I have a Brand New SOFT Head of Hair! (Kinda Long)

[KiSseS03]

I can't get over the difference in 3 weeks of washing my hair at a place with SOFT water!

I'm hope at my parent's place for Christmas break from school and the water here is divine! I knew the dorms at my school had very hard water for months, since every time I take a shower my skin becomes dry, ashy and sometimes even itchy... forget skipping the body lotion, it's a necessity. At home my skin is a still dry when I don't moisturize but it's definitely not a huge issue.

Anyway, I had problems with my hair (dryness, breakage, porosity issues...you name it) last year during first semester, but never drew a correlation between the water and the problems, I just summed it up to heat styling (which was PART of the problem). I also figured, when I was home, I took more time with my hair so it came out better.

Anyway I started taking really good care of my hair back in October, but although I was doing all the right things (thanks to this site) my hair still wasn't thriving... When I washed it, it tangled, there was still some breakage (despite no-heat) and it was still kinda dry.

I finally figured it out when I came home in November and washed my hair, and after shampooing with my normal shampoo I could COMB my hair without a snag at all sans conditioner! Even after I tried my first ever Aphogee Treatment my hair was soft soft soft!

After 3 weeks of only being exposed to soft water I literally feel like I have a new head of hair! This is based on using the exact same products/routine... My thick new growth is soft and cottony, I have barely any breakage at all, and my hair is soft and moisturized. It even seems shinier! I'm now a true believer that Water Quality makes a tremendous difference in hair health.

Sadly I'm going back to the dorm Hard Water next week, but I'm getting braids to help get me through the next few months....

 

[luckymonkey1307]

girl i know how u feel, over the summer one time i was rinsing my hair everyday with my unknown hard water....my hair got disgusting (hard and dry) yick. but then i started spraying my hair with distilled water...whoa! i def feel u on the complete turn around hair.

 

[tuffCOOKiE]

Is there any way that you can get a showerhead for that? Depending on how long you stay in school, it might be great investment..

 

[KiSseS03]

Is there any way that you can get a showerhead for that? Depending on how long you stay in school, it might be great investment..

Yeah, I'm looking around for one. The only thing is, I share a bathroom so I would need something I can take off and on...

 

[hairmaster]

Find a salon that has a water softening system in their salon? This must be a problem in the community.

 

[hot_pepper96]

I got a Christmas bonus from work this year so I used some of the money to buy two shower filters for the house (Aquasana Brand). I had researched water filters on yahoo and this brand kept coming up as one of the best. Bought it from bestfilters.com and they have a sale now w/ free shipping.
Plus you only have to re-fill every 6 months. There are some cheaper onese too (Sprite).

I can't wait to try it. I just started a thread on here yesterday asking about anyone who has has luck w/using shower filters. My skin has become so dry and itchy as well as dry hair. Everyone in the house is suffering. I remember when I was home in the Virgin Islands, my skin never felt as dry as it does now!

Maybe, I should start a water filter challenge and we can track any difference in our hair/skin.

 

[morehairplease]

I got a Christmas bonus from work this year so I used some of the money to buy two shower filters for the house (Aquasana Brand). I had researched water filters on yahoo and this brand kept coming up as one of the best. Bought it from bestfilters.com and they have a sale now w/ free shipping.
Plus you only have to re-fill every 6 months. There are some cheaper onese too (Sprite).

I can't wait to try it. I just started a thread on here yesterday asking about anyone who has has luck w/using shower filters. My skin has become so dry and itchy as well as dry hair. Everyone in the house is suffering. I remember when I was home in the Virgin Islands, my skin never felt as dry as it does now!

Maybe, I should start a water filter challenge and we can track any difference in our hair/skin.

do you mind telling me where you purchased this? tia

 

[Phoenix]

I bought a Crystal Quest handheld filtering showerhead from Ebay about a month ago and I really like it. While looking for Christmas gifts I noticed that target.com has Culligan handheld showerheads with filters. The Home Depot near me had the wall mounted kind, but no handheld. I can't remember the name of the brand...it starts with a P...

 

[metro_qt]

OOOOkkk.. so you're saying that softer water makes hair easier to detangle?
I'm allll over that,if that's the case... i'll be at home hardware tonight getting a filtration system...

 

[hot_pepper96]

do you mind telling me where you purchased this? tia

Sure tishee. I bought it on www.bestfilters.com The brand I bought is the Aquasana.

Also, you can read more info about it on the brand's website www.aquasana.com

 

[morehairplease]

Sure tishee. I bought it on www.bestfilters.com The brand I bought is the Aquasana.

Also, you can read more info about it on the brand's website www.aquasana.com

thanks hot pepper!

 

[plainj]

This is so true. Hard water will wreck you. I moved from a soft water city to a hard water city and haven't had anything but trouble--trouble with hair, trouble with skin, everything. I went from almost bra-strap to above shoulder length in about 2 years. I bought a shower filter about 5 months ago. I haven't seen much of a difference with my hair & skin but several people on this board have had positive results with one. My next step is a water softener.

 

[KiSseS03]

OOOOkkk.. so you're saying that softer water makes hair easier to detangle?
I'm allll over that,if that's the case... i'll be at home hardware tonight getting a filtration system...

For me it definitely does, I can't believe the difference... hair AND skin.

I'm braided up now until school ends in April to save my hair.

 

[devin]

maybe this is an added reason for my dry, hard hair. I live in Texas so I am sure we probably have hard water, especially in this old condo building that we live in. Looks like i will be investing in this shower filter real soon. Thanks for the info! LHCF never fails!

 

[Jaelin]

As someone who goes to school in TX and is home in NY right now on break, the difference I notice is dramatic. I have opted not to get filters for my apt in TX because they seemed too expensive to me but I may break down and get one. The other problem I had was that I hadn't found a handheld for my shower but the aquasana looks perfect.

hot_pepper96 does the massaging shower head have a setting where you can stop the water from coming through the head, even though the water from the pipe is still on?

What has helped me out is clarifying with apple cidar vinegar every two to three weeks. And I have a little spritzer that I fill up with bottled water that I spray on my hair between washes.

 

[Candycane044]

Yeah, I'm looking around for one. The only thing is, I share a bathroom so I would need something I can take off and on...

I have this same problem, I moved to Arizona from St. Louis and the water quality is awful. I also live in a dorm so I can't really just put a shower filter on there unless it can be removed repeatedly. *sigh* Water quality does make a tremendous difference.

 

[hot_pepper96]

I'm not sure Jaelin. It's supposed to arrive today. I can't wait to hook it up.

 

[Phoenix]

As someone who goes to school in TX and is home in NY right now on break, the difference I notice is dramatic. I have opted not to get filters for my apt in TX because they seemed too expensive to me but I may break down and get one. The other problem I had was that I hadn't found a handheld for my shower but the aquasana looks perfect.

hot_pepper96 does the massaging shower head have a setting where you can stop the water from coming through the head, even though the water from the pipe is still on?

What has helped me out is clarifying with apple cidar vinegar every two to three weeks. And I have a little spritzer that I fill up with bottled water that I spray on my hair between washes.

I don't know about the Aquasana, but my Crystal Quest has an off position. That is one of my favorite things about it. I can turn off the showerhead while I'm letting my conditioner sit, then turn it back on without having to readjust the water to get it back to the right temperature. Here's the site if you're interested: http://www.crystalquest.com/showerfilters.htm

 

[morehairplease]

This is so true. Hard water will wreck you. I moved from a soft water city to a hard water city and haven't had anything but trouble--trouble with hair, trouble with skin, everything. I went from almost bra-strap to above shoulder length in about 2 years. I bought a shower filter about 5 months ago. I haven't seen much of a difference with my hair & skin but several people on this board have had positive results with one. My next step is a water softener.

do you mind telling me where this can be purchased? tia

 

[morehairplease]

I don't know about the Aquasana, but my Crystal Quest has an off position. That is one of my favorite things about it. I can turn off the showerhead while I'm letting my conditioner sit, then turn it back on without having to readjust the water to get it back to the right temperature. Here's the site if you're interested: http://www.crystalquest.com/showerfilters.htm

thanks for posting the link Phoenix! how long do the filters last? tia

 

[Phoenix]

thanks for posting the link Phoenix! how long do the filters last? tia

The site says about a year. I've only had mine for about a month so I can't say first-hand.

 

[NYCQT16]

How do u test for hard water?

 

[Jaelin]

Thanks for the info Phoenix. I see that's it's cheaper than the aquasana ($50 is better than $80 something) and the filter lasts longer, plus the shut off feature that I like so much

Hotpepper please let us know when you get yours if it has the shut off option.

 

[hot_pepper96]

I don't think it does Jaelin. UPS guy just brought it last night.